Cao Ren FAQ v1.1
Written by Rydain Darkstar <rydain@gmail.com>
Last Revised May 19, 2008
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Table of Contents
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1) Introduction
2) Unlocking Cao Ren
3) Move Set
4) Getting Equipped
5) Battle Advice
6) Analysis of Fighting Aptitude
7) Weapons, Abilities, and Tactic
8) Revision History
9) Credits
10) Legal Junk
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1) Introduction
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Guess who's back. Back again. Rockman's back. Tell a friend.
Once a sniper, Cao Ren became a stomp bouncer in Warriors Orochi. Now he
returns to his old school distance attacks with upgraded projectile damage
and a brutal new spread shot blaster special. Cao Ren is strong when
initially unlocked and downright beastly when built up. His -ex charges do
ridiculous damage and self-replenish musou with a good setup. Unsurprisingly,
he's still a defensive powerhouse as well.
This FAQ contains Japanese text. Set your browser encoding to Shift JIS to
properly display it.
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2) Unlocking Cao Ren
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Complete Wei Story 5. The end.
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3) Move Set
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This is Cao Ren's full attack string. Some moves may not be available if he
isn't leveled up enough.
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Standard Attacks
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S Left to right swing.
SS Right to left swing.
SSS Up to down swing.
SSSS Left to right swing.
SSSSS Right to left swing.
SSSSSS 360-degree spin.
SSSSSSS Right to left swing.
SSSSSSSS Up to down swing.
SSSSSSSSS Cao Ren swings his arms apart horizontally.
Dash attack Headbutt charge followed by a two-armed horizontal slash.
You can steer, but you can't stop until it's done.
Jump attack Left to right swing.
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Charge Attacks
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C3, C4, C5, and C6 activate weapon attributes.
________________________________________
C1 / T Your garden-variety stomp.
C2 / ST Uppercut that knocks enemies into the air. Press and hold T
before the first swing is done. Otherwise, you will start into
a C3.
C3 / SST Cao Ren shoots long range energy blasts out of his buckler
blade. More T presses produce more shots. This charge stuns
enemies. The final round is a 3-way shot that activates weapon
attributes.
C4 / SSST Cao Ren threatens to hug the enemies and they all fall down.
At least that's what it looks like. This is a crowd busting
move.
C5 / SSSST Ground pound splash launcher.
C6 / SSSSST Cao Ren charges with his buckler blade held out in front.
Jump + T Cao Ren flips forward and does a stomp with a smallish area
of effect.
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Special Attacks
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C2-ex Cao Ren dashes forward and grabs. If he connects with an
(S + R1) enemy, he blows them away with a huge 360-degree shockwave.
The initial backswing, grab, and shockwave activate weapon
attributes. Press and hold R1 before the first swing is done.
Otherwise, you will start into a C3-ex.
C3-ex Cao Ren unleashes a six-round barrage - five 3-way shots plus
(SS + R1) a 5-way ender. All shots are elemental.
R1 counter Cao Ren dashes forward, knocking enemies away with a wide
range slash.
Musou A series of back and forth swings followed by a stomp.
True musou As above, plus a badass introductory splash screen and a
flashy second stomp with an enormous shockwave.
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Horse Attacks
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S string Up to 6 slashes alternating from side to side.
T Two slashes, one on each side of the horse.
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4) Getting Equipped
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Recommended Weapon Attributes
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The first seven attributes should be as follows.
雷
Bolt Increases damage, stuns enemies, and hurts nearby foes as well.
陽
Flash Breaks enemies' guard.
斬
Slay Too useful not to include.
破天
Air Increases the damage of any scattering or juggling charge.
The C2-ex shockwave scatters. C3-ex will often juggle.
旋風
Range For melee versatility and efficient C2-ex musou drain-back.
神速
Agility Essential for safe C4 execution without the Charge Bracer
enchant (頑強). Improves the speed of C2-ex.
極意
Might Why hit like a truck when you can hit like a semi?
________________________________________
For the last slot, choose from the following depending on whether you want to
emphasize endurance or attack power.
吸活
Absorb To fuel C2-ex, C3-ex, and the occasional counterattack. Fills
efficiently with the initial C2-ex strike and high Range or
with C3-ex in dense crowds. Activates on elemental C3 blasts
as well.
勇猛
Brave For more anti-officer oomph in the presence of Might.
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Recommended Weapon Enchantments
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When applicable, English names were assigned based on existing Dynasty
Warriors series items with the same functionality.
The following enchantments are highly recommended.
賦活
Musou Refill Slowly replenishes musou. Improves battlefield endurance
during long stints of soloing.
頑強
Charge Bracer Your charge attacks will not be interrupted by regular attacks.
Lets you be more reckless with C2-ex and C3.
金甲
Nanman Armor Arrows won't flinch you. Hooray for more tanking.
________________________________________
Just for fun, you may wish to give the following a try.
飛龍
Dragon Arms Allows you to jump cancel out of charge attacks. Eliminates
C3 ending lag. This isn't needed for safety, but it's fun to
play with.
天舞
Tenbu Transforms Cao Ren into spin 'n spraying hedge clippers on
speed. When musou is full, most attacks carry elements. This
includes S attacks and C3 blasts - basically, everything except
for C2. Rockman can already dominate with his powerful -ex
specials, but REN-BU is always good for a laugh. You may wish
to limit Agility because it can be difficult to consistently C3
when it is maxed.
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Recommended Abilities
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Regardless of setup, these four are essential.
特殊強化
Boost Makes perfect sense for a character reliant on charge attacks.
速度上昇
Impulse More foot speed translates to better offense and defense.
攻撃強化
Potence It always hurts to hit extra hard. Har har har.
技型強化
Technique Increases attack power even further.
________________________________________
Consider any of the following depending on your play style and the rest of Cao
Ren's setup.
連撃回復
Adrenalin If you find yourself losing life when running solo on high
difficulty. Don't forget to break your combos periodically
because Adrenalin only fills once when you hit 10. C3 spam or
C2-ex on a large enough peon group will trigger a 10+ combo.
I haven't needed this much, but it's good to know about.
必殺強化
Awakening Pumps up any musou-consuming attack. The bonus stacks on top
of everything else related.
馬術強化
Cavalier Horses are no longer obsoleted by high-level Impulse. Impulse
now beefs up the horse, so you can blaze around maps at warp
speed. I usually prefer to steal somebody else's horse, but
it can sometimes be helpful to begin with a fast mount.
消費軽減
Conserve Decreases the cost of musou-consuming attacks. Especially
handy if you plan to self-restore most of your musou with
Absorb and the Musou Refill enchant. Small amounts of musou
are more efficiently recovered than larger chunks of a long
bar.
無双増加
Focus Lengthens the musou bar.
防御強化
Fortitude Until he is leveled up, even Rockman can look more like Sandman
on high difficulty. His defense stat eventually gets to a
point where enemies barely scratch him, even on 5-star chaos,
without Fortitude equipped.
体力増加
Vitality More health comes in handy, especially at low levels and when
dealing with fire and poison.
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Recommended Setups
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Select your setup depending on how Cao Ren will be played and how you plan to
restore health and musou.
Team Play --------------------------------------------------------------------
If you will be frequently swapping out to recover, don't bother with self-
replenishment.
Weapon Bolt / Flash / Slay / Air / Range / Agility / Brave / Might
Abilities Boost / Impulse / Potence / Technique
(pick 3) Awakening, Cavalier, Conserve, Focus, Fortitude, or
Vitality
Solo Setup - Attack Power Max ------------------------------------------------
Absorb, Conserve, and some prudence will keep Cao Ren's musou stocked with
minimal dependence on recovery drops. Awakening will get the most out of
his -ex charges.
Weapon Bolt / Flash / Slay / Air / Absorb / Range / Agility / Might
* Musou Refill
Abilities Boost / Impulse / Potence / Technique / Conserve / Awakening /
Adrenalin, Cavalier, Focus, Fortitude, or Vitality
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5) Battle Advice
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For examples of how to play Cao Ren, visit my YouTube account.
http://www.youtube.com/RydainDarkstar
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General Fighting Notes
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It's all about sniping and bombing. C3 is a handy staple for all occasions.
Annihilate dense hordes with a C2-ex or C3-ex. If enemies are closing in,
swat them away with C4.
Once Cao Ren is built up enough, he can live off his -ex charges. C2-ex will
one-shot many officers and soak up musou when used in crowds. C3-ex takes
care of pileups and stronger targets.
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Move Set Analysis
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Cao Ren's buckler swings provide more coverage than is readily apparent. The
left/right swipes are over 180 degrees. The vertical swings guard his entire
front. With a 4th weapon, they hit about a character's width on either side.
Charge attacks are king in Warriors Orochi and Cao Ren's new staples occur
early in his move set. Thus, you won't fight all that much with the S string.
Its protective nature is still worth noting.
* indicates Cao Ren's most useful attacks.
C1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alas, the stomp has been nerfed. May be useful in a pinch for bothering
enemies.
C2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bah, another non-elemental charge. Next please.
* C2-ex ---------------------------------------------------------------------
The unblockable wide-reaching crowd bomb is even better than before. Its
damage was cranked up, and the initial buckler swing is now fully elemental
with quite good coverage. With Absorb and Range, that first strike will
drain back a chunk of musou from nearby enemies. It can even replenish
more musou than it cost to deploy. Furthermore, the grab now has a more
forgiving hitbox.
If you find C2-ex difficult to aim, try it on groups of peons, foes stunned
with C3 wind blasts, or running enemies who aren't on the move long enough
for a dash attack. Draw some peons out from a crowd, turn around, and
chuck them before they can do anything to you. Keep at it until C2-ex is
second nature. The utter destruction and potential musou recovery are well
worth its learning curve.
* C3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
With improved range and drastically increased damage, this powerful snipe
attack should be used against everything and anything. Officers don't tend
to block C3, so the early non-elemental shots will often connect.
Note that this move has ending lag, so run off to a safe spot beforehand.
* C3-ex ---------------------------------------------------------------------
GET EQUIPPED WITH
WIN BUTTON
It's the Final Atomic Mega Buster! C3-ex is a barrage of pure awesome in
the form of six elemental spread shots. Aim, fire, mow down most of the
screen in a hail of energy bullets. With a tricked-out weapon and ability
setup, this move can one-shot any boss critter in the game if it is
positioned to pop said boss critter into the air for a painful juggle. It
even Absorbs well when used on dense crowds.
The same notes about C3 location safety apply.
* C4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
If enemies are closing in, this will get them off your case. With Bolt
and Range, it's a 240-degree area of effect smash.
C5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Takes a while to get to, has ending lag, and doesn't do anything especially
well. At least it looks cool.
C6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Might be fun for variety when clawing your way out of a crowd, but C4 is
generally more useful.
* Jump + T ------------------------------------------------------------------
This does not carry elements, but it is fast enough. Excellent for
escaping and getting rid of archers and riflemen.
* R1 counter ----------------------------------------------------------------
Incredibly useful because it combines a dash with a wide-coverage
knockback.
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6) Analysis of Fighting Aptitude
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Cao Ren is a top-notch all-around warrior, capable of breezing through all
manner of enemy pileups. I easily ran him through high difficulty battles
long before his stats, weapon, or abilities were maxed.
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Strengths
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Cao Ren's -ex charges are pretty much broken. They execute quickly, have
superb coverage, and do incredible damage. Both specials can self-replenish
as well.
C3 isn't far behind on the uber scale. Even before Cao Ren gets built up, it
brings plenty of pain. This charge is compatible with the anti-flinch charge
bracer enchantment because Cao Ren has naturally high defense. He can afford
to take a few lumps in exchange for being an immovable machine gun turret.
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Shortcomings
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The -ex charges and counter are fairly expensive. This may limit Cao Ren's
endurance until he gets Absorb and musou extending abilities.
Cao Ren suffers from the same S string glitch that he had in Warriors Orochi -
being unable to flinch even peons with his regular attacks. This isn't much
of an issue because his staple attacks are distanced and/or widely explosive.
hHe can also counterattack to get out of trouble.
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Recommended Teammates
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As a soloist, Cao Ren is an awesome one-man army. When pumped up, he's just
absurd. If you want him to show off as well as possible, take some team
buffers along for the ride.
* Hideyoshi Toyotomi - His attack speed buff turns Cao Ren into a
peon-harvesting death machine.
* Sun Jian - Must I explain the hilarity of 10-second infinite musou +
-ex special spam?
* Anyone with a team-wide attack buff - For comical damage overkill. Cao
Cao's buff is especially nifty because it includes hyper armor, so
you can attack uninterrupted.
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To support Cao Ren, I suggest the following.
* Cao Cao - If you don't have the Charge Bracer enchantment and you want
to Leeroy like mad, Cao Cao's hyper armor team buff will do the trick.
* Sun Wukong - For speedy travel if you aren't equipping Cavalier.
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As a Teammate
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Cao Ren is a fantastic crowd clearer and duelist. Take him along to
obliterate anything in your path.
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7) Weapons, Abilities, and Tactic
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Weapons
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Buckler Blade (+9 base attack)
Strike Buckler (+19 base attack)
Crane (+38 base attack)
Roc (+76 base attack) - obtained randomly from weapon boxes on 3-star and
above hard battles or any chaos battle.
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Abilities
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Fortitude (防御強化) ----------------------------------------------------------
Defeat 3 officers.
Boost (特殊強化) --------------------------------------------------------------
Keep life at or above 30% and get 80 KO's.
Recuperate (待機回復) ---------------------------------------------------------
Without using musou attacks, get 100 KO's within the first 10 minutes of
battle.
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Tactic
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Get 100 KO's to increase your army's defense.
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8) Revision History
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v1.1 5/19/2008 - Added Japanese text for weapon elements and abilities.
Updated weapon and ability recommendations. Added
information about the S string flinch bug. Linked to my
YouTube account with a basically maximized Cao Ren video.
Included specifics on Tenbu element activation.
v1.0 4/29/2008 - Initial revision of this FAQ.
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9) Credits
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Black Kite for his Musou Orochi translation FAQ that made it possible for me
to understand enough text to play this game
Unknown_PC and many others on the GameFAQs MO:MS board for information about
weapon enchantment crafting
NightShadows for tactic translations
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10) Legal Junk
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This FAQ is copyright 2008 by Rydain Darkstar <rydain@gmail.com> Feel free to
pass it around, put it on your website, print it out for future reference (or
kindling, toilet paper, or anything that floats your boat), et cetera, blah
blah blah, whatever. Just don't sell it or take credit for any of my work
expressed herein.